The present invention relates to a fastener, and more particularly to a fastener for fastening furniture, a desk, a shelf, or the like.
In offices and houses, furniture and equipment such as various housing shelves and desks are located. In such a situation, these furniture and equipment (hereinafter referred to as furniture) can move or fall down in case of an occurrence of quake such as earthquake.
In order to prevent the moving and falling down of the furniture as described above, the furniture should be fastened to the building.
Conventionally, the furniture is fastened by providing, for example, a fastener 101 as shown in FIG. 11 in a suitable position in the portion where the furniture contacts with the building. The fastener 101 is generally formed by using metal because at least a certain strength is necessary for fastening the furniture. In the fastener 101, threaded holes 102 are perforated.
FIG. 12 shows a state in which the furniture 110 is fastened to the building using the fastener 101. In FIG. 12, the furniture 110 is fastened by providing the fastener 101 in a suitable position in the portion where the side 111 of the furniture contacts with the floor 120 of the building and driving screws 103 into the side 111 of the furniture and the floor 120 through the threaded holes 102 perforated through the fastener 101 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cfastening to the floorxe2x80x9d).
FIG. 13 also shows a state in which the furniture 110 is fastened to the building using the fastener 101 as in FIG. 12. In FIG. 13, however, the furniture 110 is fastened by providing the fastener 101 in a suitable position in the portion where the top surface 112 (or a side) of the furniture contacts with the wall 130 of the building and driving the screws 103 into the top surface 112 (or the side) of the furniture and the wall 130 through the threaded holes 102 perforated through the fastener 101 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cfastening to the wallxe2x80x9d). The fastening to the wall as shown in FIG. 13 is effective for fastening long narrow furniture.
In the case of fastening furniture using a fastener according to the prior art, however, the metallic fastener is visible from outside. Therefore, the metallic fastener looks bad and spoils the appearance in fastening wooden furniture. In addition, since the fastener is made of metal, the wooden furniture is easily flawed in fastening. Furthermore, the metal (the fastener) and the wood (the furniture) contact with each other in fastening the wooden furniture, so that sliding occurs easily.
In order to solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fastener that does not spoil the appearance of wooden furniture, does not make flaws easily, and does not cause sliding easily in fastening the wooden furniture.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fastener having a predetermined shape, comprising a core plate member made of metal and a decorative member made of a wooden board covering the exposed portion of the core plate member. The decorative member includes a natural wood board, plywood, a synthetic, smoothly planed board, and the like. The natural wood board is most preferable.
In the fastener of the present invention, it is preferable that the decorative member made of the wooden board covers the entire core plate member.
In the fastener of the present invention, it is preferable that the decorative member is formed by using a wooden board whose central portion is hollowed out.
In the fastener of the present invention, it is preferable that the decorative member is formed by laminating wooden boards.
In the fastener of the present invention, it is preferable that the core plate member and the decorative member are integrated. The integration may be achieved by making the clearance between the hollow portion of the decorative member and the core plate member small or by adhesion of the core plate member to the decorative member.
In the fastener of the present invention, it is preferable that holes passing through the core plate member and the decorative member are formed.
In the fastener of the present invention, among the holes passing through the core plate member and the decorative member, the hole of the decorative member may be smaller than the hole of the core plate member.
In the fastener of the present invention, among the holes passing through the core plate member and the decorative member, the hole of the core plate member may be smaller than the hole of the decorative member.
Furthermore, the fastener may have any shape as long as the fastener is a material generally used as a fastener, for example, an L-type material, a T-type material, an I-type material, a flat L-type material, or a flat T-type material.
In the fastener, the core plate member made of metal may be one piece, the decorative member made of the wooden board may comprise a plurality of members, and the plurality of decorative members made of the wooden board may be integrated by adhesion.
Since the fastener according to the present invention is formed by covering the exposed portion of the core plate member made of metal with the decorative member made of the wooden board, the fastener has at least a certain strength. In addition, the decorative member serves as a cushioning material in fastening wooden furniture, so that the integrity of the furniture and the fastener in fastening the furniture improves. Furthermore, the fastener looks good and does not spoil the appearance of the furniture.
Furthermore, since the fastener according to the present invention is formed by containing the core plate member made of metal in the decorative member made of the wooden board, the fastener has at least a certain strength. In addition, the fastener does not spoil the appearance even when fastening wooden furniture. In the fastener according to the present invention, since the portion in contact with a side of the furniture (for fastening to the floor) or the top surface of the furniture (for fastening to the wall) is wood, the wood serves as a cushioning material. Therefore, flaws are not easily made. In the fastener according to the present invention, wood-to-wood contact is made between the fastener and furniture as described above. Therefore, sliding occurs less easily than in the case where metal-to-wood contact is made. Thus, a firmer fastening can be performed.
In the fastener according to the present invention, it is preferable that the decorative member is formed by using a wooden board whose central portion is hollowed out. According to the preferable example, a fastener that has a few bonding portions and provides a beautiful appearance can be obtained.
In the fastener according to the present invention, it is preferable that the decorative member is formed by laminating wooden boards. According to the preferable example, the decorative member can be formed by utilizing wood from thinning, waste wood or the like and by using members having a suitable size properly. Therefore, the decorative member can be formed relatively easily. Thus, cost reduction can be achieved.
In the fastener according to the present invention, it is preferable that the core plate member and the decorative member are integrated, that is, there is little or no clearance between them. According to the preferable example, there is little or no so called xe2x80x9cplayxe2x80x9d between the core plate member and the decorative member. Therefore, a fastener that has at least a certain strength even when the decorative member made of a wooden board covers the core plate member made of metal can be obtained.
In the fastener according to the present invention, it is preferable that holes passing through the core plate member and the decorative member are formed and that the hole of the decorative member is smaller than the hole of the core plate member. According to the preferable example, the through-hole of the fastener is defined by the hole of the decorative member. Therefore, the fastener that provides a beautiful appearance can be manufactured relatively easily without considering the clearance between the hole of the decorative member and the hole of the core plate member.
In the fastener according to the present invention, it is preferable that holes passing through the core plate member and the decorative member are formed and that the hole of the core plate member is smaller than the hole of the decorative member. According to the preferable example, the hole of the core plate member functions as a threaded hole. Therefore, the furniture can be fastened firmly by screwing (inserting) a screw into the threaded hole (the hole of the core plate member).
Furthermore, it is preferable that the fastener is at least one material selected from the group consisting of an L-type material, a T-type material, an I-type material, a flat L-type material, and a flat T-type material, that the core plate member made of metal is one piece, and that the decorative member made of the wooden board is integrated by adhesion. According to the preferable example, a fastener can be selected according to the kind, shape, location and fastening method (for example, fastening the top surfaces of the furniture with each other) of the furniture. Therefore, fastening can be conducted properly according to the situation.
When wooden furniture is fastened by fastening a shelf, furniture or the like to at least one of the floor, ceiling and wall of the building using the fastener formed as described above, both (the furniture and the fastener) are made of wood in appearance. Therefore, the fastener looks good and does not spoil the appearance of the furniture. According to this fastening method, the portion in contact with a side of the furniture (for fastening to the floor) or the top surface of the furniture (for fastening to the wall) is wood. Therefore, the wood serves as a cushioning material, so that flaws are not easily made. Furthermore, according to this fastening method, wood and wood contact with each other as described above. Therefore, sliding occurs less easily than in the case where metal and wood contact with each other. Thus, a firmer fastening can be performed. When the furniture is fastened to at least one of the floor, ceiling and wall of the building by using the fastener in which the hole of the decorative member is smaller than the hole of the core plate member and the screw, the screw is screwed into the threaded hole (the hole of the decorative member). Therefore, the furniture can be fastened properly. When the furniture is fastened to at least one of the floor, ceiling and wall of the building by using the fastener in which the hole of the core plate member is smaller than the hole of the decorative member and the screw, the screw is screwed into the threaded hole (the hole of the core plate member). Therefore, the furniture can be fastened properly. Of course, the threaded holes of both the decorative member and the core plate member may have substantially the same diameter.
In addition, when a shelf board provided on the wall of the building is fastened by using the fastener formed as described above, a shelf that provides a beautiful appearance can be obtained. When the shelf board is fastened using the fastener in which the hole of the decorative member is smaller than the hole of the core plate member and the screw, the screw is screwed into the threaded hole (the hole of the decorative member). When the shelf board is fastened using the fastener in which the hole of the core plate member is smaller than the hole of the decorative member and the screw, the screw is screwed into the threaded hole (the hole of the decorative member). Therefore, the shelf board can be fastened properly. Thus, a shelf that provides a beautiful appearance can be obtained.